


No Need To Hide

by TheDoctorIsIcecube



Series: The Prince and Servant [1]
Category: Class (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Modern Royalty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-10
Updated: 2016-11-21
Packaged: 2018-08-30 04:50:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8519146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDoctorIsIcecube/pseuds/TheDoctorIsIcecube
Summary: Charlie, as the Prince of England, never really put much thought into who he was going to marry. All he knew was that it wouldn't be for love.But then he fell in love with absolutely the wrong kind of person for him to marry. Matteusz is a servant, not a noble, not politically acceptable as a partner, and not female. But Charlie desperately wants it to work between them.





	1. Finding

If there was one thing Charlie truly despised above all else, it was balls. Large, fancy, pointless parties full of loud music, extravagant food, and girls that he had to dance with out of politeness and absolutely nothing else. He felt so out of place here. He was meant to be in his element on the diplomatic scene, whether that be in meetings or at parties like this, but he wasn’t. He felt so wrong here, so useless. He had no idea why his tutors still bothered with trying to teach him this kind of thing. Given the chance, he much preferred to hang back at the sidelines of the party, where he could sneak a little food when given the chance and speak politely to a few of the lords and ladies less interested in trying to win his hand. The sooner people realised that he clearly wasn’t going to find a partner at one of these balls and stopped holding them, the better. 

He didn’t know what was wrong with him, but it was clear there was something stopping him from choosing a bride. He was only seventeen, so really he didn’t need to know just yet, but he hadn’t even attempted to date someone before. No girl had ever caught his eye. His parents didn’t seem to know, or care, to be honest. His parents didn’t seem to care about much regarding him, except from the occasional ‘how are your studies going, Charlie’ asked at the dinner table. 

It was nice that they asked that, seeing as studying was probably the only thing he was good at, other than putting his foot in his mouth during conversations with rich women who wanted to marry him. He was quite good at keeping girls from actually wanting him, too, but he couldn’t dissuade them entirely. Too much power in it for them. This meant that he was expected to talk to them regularly, even write letters to some, at least for as long as it took for it to be acceptable to conveniently ‘forget’ to respond and simply cease correspondence instead. He was never going to settle with a girl, Charlie was already glumly convinced of that. He just didn’t like any of them in the way he wanted to.

He knew that, at some point, his parents were just going to set him up with someone if they gave enough money or power for it to be worth it. They’d tell him that this girl was who he would marry, and that was it. The time he had to choose someone was running out, but he didn’t think he got to choose no one. That was a thoroughly depressing thought, frankly, and one that didn’t bear thinking about right now. 

Charlie turned around to get more food from the table behind him, freezing when he saw one of the castle servants sneaking some of the food. He knew that was a thing he could report, and probably should report, but it just seemed cruel, honestly.

The servant looked up and saw him watching and Charlie was breathless all of a sudden. The servant was much taller than him and probably looked less out of place; his uniform was spotless and although his hair wasn’t the regulated servant style, it looked good on him. He looked familiar- in a sudden flash of memory, Charlie recognised his face; one of the servants who did the cleaning around the castle. This boy had cleaned his room on a few occasions recently, so presumably he was fairly new and Charlie’s room was now one of his regular jobs. Good, Charlie found himself thinking, and he wasn’t sure why. 

Quickly, the boy lowered his eyes, putting the food in his mouth as fast as he could. Getting rid of the evidence, Charlie supposed, but even then no one would take a cleaner’s word over his own. Before Charlie could say a word of reassurance, the servant hurried off, and Charlie could see his face burning red with shame. Oops. He hadn’t meant to make anyone feel bad, especially not a servant just trying to get a decent meal. 

Immediately, he just wanted to go after him and tell him it was okay. He knew that he wasn’t meant to leave the ball, but he wasn’t getting anywhere and he knew it. He didn’t think he was ever going to get anywhere. He didn’t want to offend the women who were looking to have a relationship with him, but he just didn’t find any of them appealing.

Hovering for a few moments more, Charlie made a decision and dashed out of the ball after the servant boy. He had a vague idea of where the servants’ quarters were, but it would still be a challenge to find that one particular boy when his only description was ‘pretty, big brown eyes, likes stealing food’.

He managed to find where he knew all the servants lived fairly quickly, which shouldn’t have been an achievement but he never really went anywhere except the library, his room, his study and the dining room. Finding the servant he’d caught taking food was more of a challenge, because no one was around. He wondered briefly where they all were, and then remembered that they had jobs. It must be odd, actually having to work to keep their home in this castle- Charlie supposed he’d never really given the thought much consideration before today, really. That boy, if he’d been caught by anyone else...he would have been out of a job and out of a home. Charlie couldn’t blame him for running away.

As luck would have it, Charlie found the boy only moments after deciding to give up and head back to the ball. He looked terrified at the sight of Charlie, and for some reason just the sight of that fear made his heart twist painfully. 

“Excuse me,” he said, and immediately he realised that maybe that wasn’t the best choice of words. He was such an idiot. “I’m not going to tell anyone that you were taking food. I’m sorry. What’s your name?” That was probably the least thought out exchange he’d had in his life. It was sort of exciting.

The boy blinked at him, clearly surprised, and then bowed his head slightly. “My name is Matteusz, your highness.” Now it was Charlie’s turn to look surprised- that accent wasn’t one he’d heard before, but...he liked it.

“Charlie,” he said, because even his parents called him Charles and he couldn’t stand it. No one had the name Charles except very rich people, he was sure. And he just didn’t like the name. “You’re, um…” He was about to say that Matteusz was very attractive, but it felt forwards and strange and he probably shouldn’t...oh. Oh. Oh, that made sense now. That was why he’d never managed to find a girl he liked. Oh dear. This really wasn’t good, not in the slightest.

“I’m what?” Matteusz just looked curious, and Charlie had absolutely no idea how to answer him. He could tell the truth, of course, but that was...it was wrong. He wasn’t meant to be like this. Princes were normal, they didn’t go around being attracted to men. This couldn’t be happening to him, he was enough of a failure to his people already.

"You're- um...nothing, don't worry." Charlie blushed, looking sheepishly down at his feet. "It's nothing. I'm sorry, I should let you get back to work. My apologies for keeping you."

"No! I mean, I-" Matteusz was blushing and Charlie couldn't stop himself from thinking about how attractive he was. This was not good. He had to stop this.

"Is there something wrong?" Charlie clasped his hands behind his back, tilting his head curiously to the side. He was genuinely wondering why Matteusz seemed so eager to keep him here.

"It is not my place," he said, ducking his head. It looked a little silly when he did that because of how much taller he was. Then again, most people were taller than him, but this felt different.

"I consider you my equal," Charlie said firmly. "Different status or not, we share a living space, we look to be the same age, and you have done nothing to show that you do not deserve the utmost respect."

Matteusz just shook his head. "I should like to tell you that you look nice tonight," he said. His voice was thick with that accent Charlie didn't know and he could feel himself blushing at the compliment.

"Thank you," he said, accepting the compliment with a smile that wasn't seen once when Charlie was dealing with girls. "So do you."

"You just say that to be nice," he said. Charlie was surprised for a moment. He wasn't used to hearing a servant talk back to him like this, but that didn't mean it was entirely a bad thing. "Royal people are very polite."

"We are, but that's because we're trained to be." Charlie sighed. "I am complimenting you because I think you deserve to be complimented. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Thank you," he said with a smile. It made Charlie feel strange inside, which made him feel awful. He shouldn't be doing this. He should leave right now.

"Um," he said eloquently. He didn't know what to say now. How exactly did one carry out a conversation with someone one's own age?

"You are more normal than people say you are," Matteusz said, which caught Charlie's attention. When he said that, it implied that the servants talked about him. He wanted, for some reason, to know what they thought, even though it sounded like it wasn't all good.

"Am I? Is that a good thing?" From the smile on Matteusz's face, he had to assume that it was. "Um...what do people say about me?"

"They say you are never seen without a book," he said, and though it was definitely true, Charlie got the feeling that he was withholding the whole truth. He didn't want to press any further, though. He was already so grateful for this conversation.

"They're not wrong," he said sheepishly. "Well- except now, I suppose. My parents made me leave my books in my quarters before the ball." Charlie sighed.

"Shock horror," Matteusz laughed, and Charlie felt compelled to laugh with him. He didn't really understand, but it seemed like it was meant to be funny. "It's almost as if you're not at a ball to read."

"Technically I'm at the ball to find a girlfriend, but I don't think that's going to happen." Charlie laughed a little. He didn't see the point in not being honest. "And you were at the ball to work, but instead you were eating," he added. He hoped it wasn't going to far to joke about that.

Matteusz laughed nervously, looking a little fidgety again, and Charlie looked sheepish. Maybe he should just avoid the whole stealing food thing from now on. "Did you need anything else, your highness?" He asked, and Charlie wanted to scream. He'd thought they'd been having a conversation that wasn't weighted by his power over Matteusz, at least towards the end.

"No, I just- I wanted to talk to you and make sure you knew I wasn't going to tell anyone about what you did...and please. Just call me Charlie." He smiled as openly as he could, hoping that Matteusz would relax a bit.

Matteusz smiled back, but he still looked tense. Charlie knew that, as a servant, he would have to go back to that ball after this. He should too, but he knew now that there was no way he would find someone to marry at that ball.

"I really don't want to go back there," he said, sighing. "If I have to talk to one more girl, I'm going to jump off the balcony. And please don't tell anyone I said that, I dread to think what my parents would do."

"Your secret is safe with me," Matteusz said, and Charlie couldn't help but feel there was a double meaning to that. It made him uneasy that someone else knew of his...feelings.

"Thank you." There was a moment of awkward silence, and Charlie decided that he should probably leave before he said or did anything monumentally stupid. "I, um, really should be going... My parents will notice otherwise. I'll see you again soon, I expect." He left, and when he got back to the ball he pleaded an upset stomach as the reason he had left so suddenly and asked if he could go back to his room for the rest of the night. His stomach wasn't upset in the way he claimed, but he did feel very strange.

Thankfully, his parents seemed to buy his excuse. Charlie supposed they didn't want him throwing up on any of the very important guests. He walked quickly back to his quarters, trying to ignore the warm, fluttering nervousness in his stomach and failing miserably.

 

He shouldn't feel like this. He shouldn't, it was wrong and it was awful and just by feeling it he was failing his parents and his people. He hated feeling this way, he wanted to stop, but every time he even thought of Matteusz and their conversation and the way he looked and- he just couldn't stop it. Charlie wondered what would have happened if he'd kissed Matteusz during their conversation. Most likely he would have just pushed away and left him, but maybe...maybe he would have stayed.

No. He couldn't afford to think like this. He had to just forget Matteusz and move on. He was a prince. One day, he would be the leader of his people. That meant he needed a queen, he needed an heir. This was just a foolish wish that would never come true.

He got himself changed into his nightclothes and picked up the book that had been resting on his bedside table all day. This would take his mind off Matteusz, surely. He could just ignore this, and then it would all go away.


	2. Falling In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next day comes, life goes on, but now everything is different.

Charlie read late into the night, which was usual, but he still couldn't take his mind off what had just happened. By the time the morning came he'd managed six hours of sleep, just enough that he wasn't stumbling around once he got down to the dining room. He still didn't feel right, not at all. The odd feeling from last night still lingered, making him feel completely uninterested in the food laid out for him. Charlie couldn't bear to do much more than pick at a slice of toast, much to his parents' concern.

"Are you feeling well this morning, Charles?" His parents were ever busy, but they always found time to eat at least one meal with him a day. He just wished that his mother had been needed for an early morning event today.

"I'm fine, Mother. I just...didn't sleep too well last night." Hopefully that was a plausible excuse. He didn't have a history of sleeping problems, but maybe he could blame it on the stomach upset he'd pretended to have.

She nodded. "Just don't fall behind in your studies, Charles." She paused for a moment as he nodded. "I know you don't find that talking to women comes naturally to you, but you should try to engage a little more at these events."

"I know. I'm sorry, Mother." He wasn't sorry. Just worried. Worried because he was going to be in so much trouble if his parents found out about Matteusz, found out that he didn't like girls at all.

The rest of the meal passed in stony silence with Charlie only managing to stomach a single piece of toast. He'd have to try and find something else to eat later because that would not sustain him until lunch.

He had a lesson to attend after breakfast, and his Maths tutor got rather irate at him for being unfocused in the lesson. If only she knew what was going on in Charlie's head, he thought grumpily as he headed out of the lesson. She'd set him a whole heap of extra work to do this evening, which wasn't fair because he had two history assignments to work on too and it was so difficult to concentrate with all these thoughts about Matteusz in his head.

He trudged back to his room in moody contemplation, opening the door and then almost immediately dropping all of his work on the floor. He'd forgotten that it was Matteusz's job to clean his room. "Good morning your highness," he said, and Charlie could only stand there. He hadn't expected that and now he was completely unprepared for this conversation. What did he say?

"Um...good morning," he said back, bending down to pick up his work again. "My apologies for disturbing your work. You- you startled me. Sorry."

"I am here every morning," he said with a smile which made Charlie's heart rate increase a little too much for his liking. He couldn't just tell Matteusz to stop being attractive, but he felt like he needed to.

"I know, but I just- I- um..." Charlie had absolutely no idea what to say, and he knew he must be red as a tomato. He quickly reached out and shut the door of his room behind him before anyone could walk past and see what was going on.

"I do not know what to say," Matteusz admitted with a small smile to him. "You are the prince, and before yesterday you never even looked at me while I cleaned for you."

"Yes, but- we spoke to each other last night. I know who you are now." Charlie quickly headed over to his desk to put down the pile of work, and then headed back over to Matteusz. Not TOO close, just in case he got tempted to do something he'd regret.

"People tell me to be wary of you," he said, "because they say you do not like people cleaning your room."

Charlie frowned. "I just think I'm capable of cleaning on my own."

"You would prefer me to leave?" Matteusz frowned, and Charlie immediately shook his head. As much as he felt he should be able to clean his own room, he wanted Matteusz to stick around.

"Tell me what you like to do," he said. As a servant at the palace, Matteusz was most likely eighteen, so a little older than him. And because he wasn't a prince he'd probably had a far more interesting life. "Obviously your life can't be just work."

"Most of it is work," Matteusz said, sounding just a little bitter about that. "Out of work...sometimes I read. I played sports as a child, but...that was not so fun. Forgive me, but why is prince like you so concerned with servant like me?"

"Do you have friends here?" He asked. He didn't have any friends at all. He never spoke to other people even though lots of them wanted to speak to him. He preferred books to parties and people any day, but now it just meant he didn't know anyone.

"Not really," Matteusz said, sighing. "But you still have not answered my question. Why should you care about the life that I lead, your hi- sorry, Charlie."

"Neither do I," he said. Why was he doing this? He should be pushing Matteusz away so he never had to think about his deep brown eyes or his incredibly attractive face ever again, but he wasn't. "But I'd quite like one."

"Surely there are plenty of rich people for you to talk to," Matteusz said. He sounded mildly irritated, probably because Charlie still hadn't given him an answer to his question.

"I'm- sorry, I'm probably keeping you from your job," he said. Clearly Matteusz just wasn't interested in him, but he couldn't force him to like him and Charlie really didn't blame him. He wasn't a very appealing person.

"Yours was the last room I have to clean this morning." Matteusz didn't move, didn't say, just clasped his hands behind his back and looked at Charlie. He looked expectant- clearly still waiting for an answer.

"You're very attractive," he said, and he immediately regretted it. He felt sick with nerves within an instant and he was disgusted with himself. That was the perfect opportunity to send him away, but he'd done the exact opposite.

"Oh," Matteusz said. He was still for a few seconds, and then he glanced towards the door. Charlie thought he might run, but he didn't. Instead he just stepped forward and then back a little again, looking down at the floor. "So are you."

"I'm sorry, I don't-" He just didn't know what to say. What was he doing and why was he such an idiot? "I don't know what to do next."

"Personally, I would suggest kissing. But you are prince, so perhaps not yet." Matteusz set his cleaning equipment aside, strolling over and sitting himself comfortably down on Charlie's bed. "You can talk to a person your own age instead."

Charlie just smiled at him. Honestly, that was all he wanted. Kissing Matteusz sounded nice, but he was sure it would just be a failure and they'd both be disappointed. Talking was something he could do with only a little awkwardness.

He came to sit next to Matteusz on his bed, drawing his knees up to his chest and looking at the other boy a little awkwardly. He really had no idea how he was supposed to be acting. "What kind of books do you like?" He asked, unable to think of anything else. Matteusz had mentioned that he read sometimes, though, which meant that he read books, which meant they had something in common.

Matteusz shrugged. "Whatever I can find. Is not much time to go out, buy books. Sometimes I get a little jealous when I see how many books you are able to have."

"You can borrow mine," he said. That was what a library was for, after all. And he couldn't read all his books at the same time. "I have a lot of books."

"Thank you." Matteusz smiled. He was quiet for a moment, as if considering something. "Would your parents mind if they knew you liked a boy? You seem to me to have everything, but...perhaps not."

"I don't think they would like it," he said. "My parents want me to marry a powerful, rich woman and have children with her, just like they did when they were younger."

"My parents do not like that I like boys, either." Matteusz sighed, looking down at the floor. "Is why I came to work here. Away from them."

"I'm glad you did," he said. There was something about Matteusz that he felt attracted them to each other. It wasn't just the way he looked, even though he was very attractive. There was something else too.

"You're very kind for a prince. I always imagined royalty to be a lot crueler to servants...although, most of them are. You are exception to the rule."

"What do they do?" He asked. As royalty they were meant to be responsible for their people. That meant protection and, above all, mutual respect. The idea that Matteusz had been treated badly made his blood boil.

"You do not want to know," Matteusz said, but Charlie kept his gaze firm and eventually the other boy sighed. "Fine...often, people will shout. Occasionally throw things or hit me."

Charlie took one of Matteusz's hands in his own. He was clearly upset about it and he just hated that. He hated that anyone could treat someone else like that. No wonder the people had poor perceptions of the monarchy if they went around doing that. "I promise I haven't ever treated a servant like that," he said firmly. "Well...as a toddler I may have thrown the odd toy at someone, but it certainly wasn't because they were a servant."

Matteusz laughed and Charlie was convinced for a moment that he'd gone to heaven. It was such a happy sound. "You are strange," he said, "but it is a good kind of strange."

"I'll go ahead and take that as a compliment." Feeling a little bit braver, Charlie stretched his legs out and leant his head on Matteusz's shoulder.

"Feel free," Matteusz said, and Charlie felt him put an arm around his shoulder. It was a very comfortable position. He hadn't been this close to anyone for...a very, very long time.

"I can't remember the last time I've been this close to someone," he said, frowning. "I've certainly never done it in a romantic way like this."

"Do not worry," Matteusz said. "You aren't doing anything wrong." He was doing something wrong. He was sitting on his bed in the arms of a servant boy and his parents would be furious.


	3. A Little Further

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlie and Matteusz's relationship gets much more serious.

Over the next few days, Charlie found himself having a lot of long chats with Matteusz. Every morning he'd wait around and then talk while Matteusz cleaned and for a long time after he was done, and even on a couple of evenings Matteusz would find time to sneak down and visit him.

It was nice, having company, and every day he felt happy when he was with Matteusz just talking to him and holdings hands. A couple of times they'd hugged each other and that was really nice. He didn't spend quite as much time reading, but he'd been so far ahead in his studying it didn't really matter.

It was the fifth evening since they'd first sat down and talked on Charlie's bed, and Charlie was busy reading and scribbling notes down for his studies when someone knocked at his door. Judging from the time and that now-familiar knock pattern, he knew exactly who it was.

He opened the door and grinned. Even though it was no surprise, not really, he was still always really excited when it turned out that Matteusz still wanted to be around. Yesterday, they'd discussed if whatever they had going on was an actual relationship, and they'd decided it was and Charlie hadn't stopped smiling for an hour.

He quickly shut the door and pulled Matteusz into a hug, burying his face in the other boy's shoulder for a moment. There was nothing quite as comforting as this; nothing quite as pleasing as being held by someone who he knew cared about him.

"Good evening," Matteusz said, his voice slightly muffled. "How has today been?" He'd asked that yesterday and the day before, and Charlie was starting to love the routine of it.

"Fairly boring, but much better now that you're here." Charlie let out a long sigh, feeling tension drain away from him. "Thank you for coming this evening..."

"I will come whenever I can," Matteusz said. Charlie hugged him tighter. He was so happy that he had someone to count on. Someone who really did care about him. He felt Matteusz stroking his hair, and then heard his voice, sounding slightly nervous, which was worrying. "Charlie...may I ask you something?"

"You can ask me anything," he said, even though he was now very afraid that Matteusz was going to ask if they could end this. He didn't think he'd be able to stand it if his only friend decided to leave him.

There was a moment of silence, and then Matteusz pulled ever so slightly away from the hug. "Would you mind if I kissed you? I have been wanting to for days now."

"I, um." He did want Matteusz to kiss him. He wanted him to kiss him so much. He'd never kissed anyone before, he'd never even wanted to, but with Matteusz it was different. It was real.

Eventually he just nodded, because the word 'yes' was hard to verbalise when his throat felt like it had closed up. Matteusz grinned, then leaned forward and cupped his face and suddenly Charlie found himself being kissed. The experience was completely alien to him, but it was nice. It felt nice, and warm, and Matteusz's hands were so soft and gentle even though he was so much bigger than him. Though his head was almost held in place, it didn't feel controlling or constricting, just guiding.

Charlie found himself almost disappointed when Matteusz pulled away, although really, there were too many other emotions rushing through him to leave room for disappointment. He just stared up at Matteusz, blushing furiously.

"You are so cute," Matteusz said, bringing a hand up to stroke the side of his face for a moment before he leaned in for another short kiss.

"I think I need to sit down," Charlie said, pulling Matteusz over to his bed. This just prompted a laugh, and another kiss. Charlie didn't object in the slightest.

"If you had been anyone else, I would have thought you were asking me to have sex with you," Matteusz said, and Charlie could feel himself blushing even more. He didn't want to have sex with Matteusz and it was still illegal, for them to do so anyway.

"Maybe another time," he mumbled. Not for a long while. Not when even small kisses made him blush as red as a tomato. He really needed to work on that, Charlie thought to himself. Not blushing so much would be good. Blushing was sort of embarrassing, and if he blushed every time he thought about Matteusz his parents would probably think he had a very high fever.

"I'll wait as long as you like," Matteusz said, stroking gently down the side of his face again. "Would not want you to be forced into anything."

Charlie realised then that he was probably going to fall in love with Matteusz, because he was utterly perfect. He'd managed to get himself past the hatred he felt towards himself because of this relationship. It was good for him to be happy and now he thought that maybe it would go even further. He could be in love. He could love someone and not feel like there was something wrong with him anymore.

He leaned up and kissed Matteusz himself this time. Clearly this was something of a surprise, but Matteusz adjusted quickly enough and kissed back. Charlie decided that he definitely liked kissing and this was something that they should absolutely do more of. He liked this. It was intimate and close and inherently romantic. This was something only him and Matteusz could share.

"You know, I'm glad I caught you stealing food," he said warmly. "Without that, I wouldn't have ever got to know you, I wouldn't have done any of this."

"I am glad I was caught," Matteusz said, and then he laughed. "If you were not a wonderful person, everything would be different for me."

"It's just human decency," Charlie insisted. "You'd have to be a monster to try and get someone fired just because they ate some food. I don't ever want to be that sort of person."

"You are too nice to be that person," Matteusz said, letting Charlie put his head on his shoulder. He was done with kissing for now. He loved kissing, but he wanted it to be special.

"I hope so." Charlie was quiet for a moment, just enjoying the way his head nestled so perfectly against the crook of Matteusz's shoulder. "Do they not feed you well at the castle?"

"No, we are fed very well, I had just not eaten since lunch," Matteusz admitted with a small smile. "I could have waited until after, but now I am glad I did not."

"So am I." Charlie smiled. "I wonder...since you come and clean my room every morning, do you think you would ever have spoken to me had we not met at the ball?"

"Whenever I was here before, you ignored me," he said. "I am not allowed to speak first." Charlie felt bad about that now. He hadn't really thought about how his servants were people who deserved to be seen and spoken to as well.

Honestly, he hadn't even realised that they weren't allowed to speak first. It made sense, now he thought about it- he couldn't remember a single instance where any of the castle workers had spoken to him without provocation. "I didn't know that," he said.

"You are heir to the throne," Matteusz said. "You are very important. We are not important in comparison."

"You're important to me," Charlie said, frowning. "You especially, but...all the servants are important. Without them, this castle would not run."

"We know that," he said with a small smile. "But in status, in level of power, I have nothing and you have everything." That just made Charlie feel awful. He shouldn't have that much power over anyone.

"I don't want to have power over you," he said, letting out a long sigh. Sometimes he wondered if he really was a prince, or if he had been somehow switched with some other baby when he was small. It was meant to be his birthright. He was meant to be a natural leader, and both his parents certainly were. But he wasn't. Even now he had a friend he preferred books to people and he liked to take one wherever he went. And he wouldn't be able to lead an army of little tin soldiers, let alone being a figurehead for an entire country to rally to.

"I would offer to run away with you, but that would be stupid. Only works in stories. In real life, we would not last a year." Matteusz shrugged. Charlie wanted to accuse him of being pessimistic, but he was probably right. In the real world, this world, they wouldn't be able to get married. They didn't have much of a future because of Charlie's stupid responsibilities. It was times like this, sitting with Matteusz, when he just wished that he wasn't a prince and he could be with who he wanted to be with and his parents wouldn't get a say in every choice he made.


	4. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlie tells Matteusz something important and then everything goes wrong.

Days piled on weeks piled on months, and, all of a sudden, Charlie knew that he'd fallen in love with Matteusz. He wasn't sure if it happened gradually or just within an instant, but his feelings were different now. Seeing Matteusz when he smiled was the absolute highlight of his day. Everything seemed to revolve around his feelings for his boyfriend and Charlie liked it that way. He liked having someone to rely on.

Matteusz would spend his days doing work and his nights up in Charlie's room, and there was no better way to spend the time. Charlie found himself looking forwards to every evening, and by the grin on Matteusz's face whenever he opened the door, Charlie knew that he felt the same.

After the first month, Matteusz started staying nights. Not for them to have sex, of course, Charlie was still too young, but just so they could spend more time together. It wasn't every night, and it didn't need to be. It was just sometimes, and those moments of sometimes were nice. It was nice to have someone to kiss, someone to talk to, someone's arms to sleep in, and someone to wake up to when morning came. Matteusz was always quick to leave- he had to be, or someone would catch him- but it was a system that worked and they both enjoyed it.

They talked a lot; about the past, their families, their friends (a subject they soon decided to drop as neither had many), anything they could think of. It made them close, and Charlie came to think of Matteusz as not only a boyfriend but a best friend. This sort of closeness was something he'd been starved of all his life, something he'd craved, and now he had it...Charlie didn't know what he would do if it was taken away from him.

"I love you," he said. The feeling came out of nowhere, as did the urge to say it. The moment of silence terrified him. Matteusz didn't feel the same way, Matteusz didn't love him back and now he would leave him.

But Matteusz didn't leave him. He just lay in silence for a minute, his arms still around Charlie, and then he leaned forwards for a gentle kiss. "I have been wanting that to be said for weeks," he admitted. "Was scared of rejection. I love you too."

"I love you," Charlie said again, smiling. "I love you, I love you." He wrapped his arms around Matteusz tightly. This was the best moment of his life.

And then the door opened, and the best moment of his life turned quite abruptly into the worst. Charlie knew there was no point thinking of excuses, but he tried anyway. He immediately pulled away, hoping desperately that the person who was coming in hadn't seen. Maybe it was a servant who could be sacked for walking in without knocking. Charlie's mind flew to a million possibilities until he saw his mother there. She was standing, completely frozen, looking utterly shocked. Matteusz scrambled out of bed and fell to his knees on the floor, immediately letting fly with a long and almost incomprehensible string of apologies.

"Matteusz," Charlie said quietly. He had to go quickly before his mother condemned him and got rid of Matteusz forever. "Please, get up. We can talk about this."

"What is going on here, Charles?" His mother's eyes had narrowed and she was glaring directly at him. As he watched, the glare soon transferred to Matteusz, who had given up on apologising and was just sitting back on his heels and looking utterly despondent. "Why was there a servant in your bed?"

"I was talking to him, mother," he said, hoping his voice wasn't shaking. He was terrified and he felt ill. This was not how he'd wanted it to be. "This is my boyfriend Matteusz."

"Charlie, no," Matteusz tried to say, but he was cut off by a sharp glare from the queen. 

"Charles, don't be ridiculous. He is a servant boy, hardly a suitable match for someone like you. This is childhood folly, not a real relationship, and you well know it."

It was serious. He'd just told Matteusz that he loved him and now his mother was trying to tear them apart. It wasn't fair. "This is my boyfriend Matteusz. He is a servant here, but he's also my best friend, mother."

"Guards!" That one shouted word was enough to make Charlie stand up and jump protectively in front of Matteusz, even as two of the castle guards appeared in the doorway. "Keep this servant boy in a cell, would you? I need to talk to my son."

"No!" Charlie grabbed one of Matteusz's hands and pulled him up, still standing in front of him. He would not let this happen. He would not let anyone treat Matteusz in this way.

"Charlie, stop fighting them, please." Matteusz sighed, and then reached over to kiss Charlie, and then gently pushed him away and walked calmly over to the guards.

"No! I refuse to talk about Matteusz unless he's in the room with us," he said, and then he started crying. That would make his mother angrier, but he couldn't stop himself. He was so afraid.

"Charles! Stop this nonsense at once!" She grabbed onto his wrist, waving her free hand at the guards to signal for them to take Matteusz away.

"No." He couldn't believe this was happening. He couldn't stand it. Everything was going wrong, just when he had finally started to be happy in his miserable, lonely life.

When Matteusz was out of the room, his mother stood up and shut the door, and then turned to Charlie with her arms folded. "What on earth were you thinking, you silly boy?"

Charlie shook his head and sat down on the edge of the bed. He refused to talk about this. He refused to even think about this. No. He would not allow this to happen. He couldn't bear to think about what was happening to Matteusz at the moment.

"This is not a serious relationship. I don't know what ridiculous notions of love you're having, Charles, but they're nonsense. You're a prince, and you will not be with a servant, and especially not a boy."

Charlie raised his hands to block his ears. There were probably people waiting outside now his mother had called the guards, so he couldn't get out that way. She probably wasn't going to leave him alone. There was the balcony, but the door was probably locked.

"Charles! You are acting like a five year old!" She stood up, wrenched his hands away from his ears. "Respond to me, or I won't hesitate to have that boy punished even more severely than he already will be."

"He never did anything wrong," Charlie said. It was a lie, but it was an important one. It didn't matter that he was lying, because he just had to defend Matteusz. That was all he could think about.

"He's clearly corrupted my son, so yes, he has done something wrong." Charlie just glared at her. Matteusz had not 'corrupted' him in any sense of the word.

"That's not a charge you can press upon him," he said. There was nothing illegal within their relationship. They never had sex. They'd never done more than kissing. All he had to do was prove that Matteusz hadn't forced him into it.

"How long has this been going on for? What have you done with him?" She was gripping him by the shoulders now, like an interrogator. "He has done something to you. I know it."

"I've kissed him, that's all," he said. They'd never even been shirtless in each other's presences. Matteusz had always made sure that he was comfortable with every moment they spent together.

"This relationship is not real," his mother hissed. "You would do well to forget about him. You are barely more than a child, and you shouldn't even think about starting a relationship unless you want to marry that person. You're a prince, Charles, you have to consider these things."

"I'll marry him if you want," he said. He said it without thinking. He would marry Matteusz if that meant he wouldn't be punished. If Matteusz could say, he'd do anything. "I will marry Matteusz."

His mother looked rather taken aback by that, and then her face twisted into a smugness that Charlie seriously hoped was misplaced. "He seems to know his place...I highly doubt that he would agree to marry you, for fear of punishment."

"I will ask him, then," he said. Anything to get Matteusz out of the hands of the guards. They didn't even deserve to breathe the same air as someone as special as him.

"For goodness' sake..." The queen sighed, and stepped back from him. "You may ask. On the condition that if he rejects you, you will not attempt to communicate with him again, and will instead throw yourself fully into finding a suitable match." To give a bargain like that, Charlie realised, she must be utterly confident that Matteusz would say no.

"I will," he lied. If Matteusz said no, it would break his heart. He understood why he'd say no, of course, they'd only known each other for a few months, but he wouldn't be able to stand it if Matteusz was sent away. He would never look for someone else to marry.

"Good. You're not to see him until tomorrow morning, so get some sleep, Charles." Once again, it was clear that she was hoping he'd have changed his mind once he'd had time to rest and think on it. But Charlie knew that he wouldn't.

"Let him out of the cells," Charlie said firmly. He would not let Matteusz be treated in such a shameful way. "He has his own room in the servant's quarters."

"No. He will sleep in the cells. Any more arguments, and I will have him fired." That got Charlie to shut his mouth. "You may visit him in the morning. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, mother. I hate you," he said, closing the door in her face.


	5. Question

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlie asks the all important question, deciding the course of the rest of his life.

Charlie woke up feeling cold and alone, and it didn't take him long to remember why. A wave of sickness washed over him as he thought about Matteusz sat alone in a cold cell, but he fought it down. Being ill wouldn't fix anything. He needed to get his boyfriend out of there.

It was morning enough to justify seeing him, so he decided to skip breakfast and immediately go to see Matteusz. He could explain what was going on before he asked him to marry him in front of his mother.

He dressed smartly and strode on down to the cells, hoping that Matteusz hadn't been forced to share with some horrible criminal. Charlie approached the tired-looking guard in front of the line of cells, clearing his throat. "I wish to get in and see the servant boy arrested last night."

"The Queen says you are not to be allowed into his cell until she is here," the guard said. "That is exactly what she told me, and even you cannot override her."

"Take me to stand outside of his cell, then," he said, trying to smile in a way that made him look confident.

The guard frowned at him, and then sighed and stood up, beckoning for Charlie to follow. He led the way down a line of heavily barred cells, stopping at one near the end. "There you go, your highness."

Charlie looked over the cell in dismay. These were high security sections, so Matteusz had been treated as a real criminal. This was awful. "Matteusz!" He called, hoping desperately he would get a response.

There was a noise inside the cell, and then a familiar pair of eyes appeared in a small gap in the door. "Charlie..." He sounded terrible, and Charlie wished he could go in and hug him.

"I can't explain now," he said, shooting a glance at the very angry looking guard next to him, "but when I ask you the question in front of my mother, please say yes. I promise you can change your mind later if you want."

"I do not understand, but I will. I trust you." Matteusz sounded confused, but Charlie couldn't explain anymore. 

"I have to go. I promise I'll come back later." He wanted to add 'I love you', but that likely wouldn't be taken very kindly. Instead, he mouthed the words, and it was enough to see the light in Matteusz's eyes as he did it. He couldn't see if Matteusz mouthed the words back, but he hoped that he had. And then he had to let himself be escorted away by the guard again. Charlie was still painfully nervous, but now...he had hope.

He went up to the dining hall, barely able to swallow more than a few mouthfuls of food. He looked up at every entrance someone made to the room, yet neither his mother nor his father entered. Was it possible they were just refusing to see him so that he couldn't go and talk to Matteusz? His mother could very well just go back on her promise.

If she did, he'd...he would do something. Something that would make them notice, something that would make them sorry for what they'd done to him and Matteusz. Maybe he could talk about it in a speech, telling the whole of the country who he really was. Telling Matteusz that he was loved. Then he would probably be forcibly removed from wherever he was making the speech and locked in his room until he changed his ways. And Matteusz would definitely be fired. So no, his only option was to wait.

He waited in the dining hall after he was finished. He waited for quarter of an hour, glad of his habit of taking a book everywhere. Then he considered that maybe they'd decided to go down to the cells without him, so he told a servant to make sure his parents knew where he was.

Then he stood up, and started to head down to the cells. This was hardly how he'd imagined proposing to someone- in his imagination, he'd pictured somewhere romantic with someone he loved, and in his sadder thoughts he'd accepted that it would probably be the throne room to some noble girl he felt nothing for. He wasn't sure if this was better or worse than the latter thought. It was better because he loved Matteusz and didn't want him to be hurt ever. But the setting was wrong and it was honestly just too early.

As he'd thought she might be, his mother was waiting outside the cells. His father was always busy- clearly too busy even to watch his son propose to someone. "Good morning, Mother," he said curtly.

"Good morning," she said. "I was wondering if you really cared enough about him to show up." Charlie suppressed the urge to say something very rude to her. She was still able to just say no and tell him he couldn't marry Matteusz.

"I care about him enough to show up even if I would have had to walk a hundred miles," he said simple, and strode off into the cell block. His mother followed, as did two guards. He was desperately nervous. He was worried that Matteusz would turn him down because he didn't want to restrict him or something. He was too nice and considerate for his own good and it worried Charlie. He needed Matteusz to say yes.

The guard opened the door for just long enough to let Charlie into the cell, and then closed it again. He was acutely aware that his every action was being watched, but that didn't stop him from practically falling into Matteusz's arms when they were opened to him.

"Please tell me you're okay," he said, hugging Matteusz as tightly as he could. He looked so tired and it was very, very cold in the cell. Charlie just wanted to hold onto him forever.

"I am fine," Matteusz insisted. He didn't feel fine. His hands were cold on Charlie's back and he sounded a little weaker than usual, like he hadn't been given anything to eat this morning.

"Please say yes when I ask, we can talk about it later," he whispered, and Matteusz just nodded as Charlie pulled his hands away and stood opposite him. Matteusz stood up too, his eyes bright. Maybe he knew what was coming. Charlie took a deep breath, feeling his heart hammering in his ribcage, and got down on one knee. He took Matteusz's hand, lamenting the lack of a ring, and did his best to smile up at him. "Will you marry me?"

The shock on Matteusz's face was almost comical. For a moment, from his face, he thought that Matteusz was going to say no, but then he smiled. "Yes," he said, and Charlie relished in the noise of surprise from his mother. "Of course."

"Thank you." Charlie stood up and flung his arms around Matteusz again, letting out a shaky sob of relief. As long as his mother didn't go back on her word, they would be fine. And Charlie didn't intend to let her go back on her word. He would marry Matteusz. It wouldn't be for a while, he was still seventeen, but one day he would marry Matteusz and they could be together for the rest of their lives.

"I love you," he murmured, and he'd never meant anything more in his life.

**Author's Note:**

> Please remember that, if you liked this, it's great to see a comment :)


End file.
